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Audio Format: DD 5.1 Surround Video Format: Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) Languages: Japanese, English, Spanish Subtitles: English Region Code: 1 Year Made: 1989 Running Time: 105
 Hayao Miyaziki is a household name in Japan. Stateside he's often referred to as "the Walt Disney of Japan," a term which really doesn't give him his due. Miyazaki's an original, spinning his family fantasies in the modern world of everyday struggles and growing pains. His best known film in this country, the enchanting My Neighbor Totoro, turns a little girl's imaginary friend (or is the giant blue hedgehog real after all?) into a healing force that helps her come to terms with her mother's illness.
Kiki's Delivery Service, Miyazaki's 1989 hit recently picked up by Disney, takes the opposite tack with the experiences of a young witch as she charts her path in the real world. Sincere, spirited Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) has turned thirteen, the age when witches leave the nest for a year of solo training. She's ready to take on the world with her broomstick and her best friend Jiji, a cautious but supportive black cat (a tiny wisp of a feline voiced by a gently subdued Phil Hartman) if she can only get her flying under control -- her takes-offs are still a bit erratic.
She picks a picture postcard seaside town of red tiled roofs and cobble stone streets, a quaintly European village mixing old world architecture and the bustle of contemporary life rendered in loving detail. It's daunting at first but with luck and pluck she finds a home above a bakery, starts her own business (a high-flying delivery service), and begins making friends.
Miyazaki's gentle rhythm and meandering narrative capture the easy pulse of real life, a refreshing change from the Disney tradition that every American animation studio emulates with splashy song breaks, slapstick comic relief, and life-and-death Indiana Jones-like climaxes. The magic of Kiki is the girl's sense of wonder in her new world, whether it's her soaring flight among the migrating geese or a bicycle ride with Tombo (Matthew Lawrence) to see the dirigible. My favorite moments involve Kiki's friendship with the young woman Ursula (Janeane Garofalo), an independent young artist who becomes a big sister and role model. When Kiki loses her self confidence Ursula invites her to her rural cabin for a sleepover and a self esteem boost, enough reassurance for Kiki to come the rescue in a spectacular finale involving the out-of-control dirigible.
For adults, there's clever, understated humor that runs through the picture, lampooning movie merchandising with images of Jiji on coffee cups-- and a winking come-on line to the furry white feline next door: "Hello, kitty."
   
   
Introduction - 1. John Lasseter
Featurette - 1. Voice Talent
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Storyboards
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